Victorian recreational anglers who regularly target esturine species such as bream, mulloway and flathead or who fish for trout in the high country are invited to help assist the research which goes into managing and maintaining these fisheries.

The Victorian angler diary program has been running for over 15 years. It provides valuable information to researchers on issues such as growth, spawning success, survival and catch trends which ultimately informs and assists the sustainable management of fish stocks.

Researchers are now looking for anglers who regularly (once a week / fortnight) fish for black bream and estuary perch in the Hopkins and Glenelg rivers, mulloway in the Glenelg River, dusky flathead and estuary perch in Anderson and Mallacoota inlets, flathead in Port Phillip Bay and brown and rainbow trout in the Kiewa and Mitta Mitta rivers.

People signing up to the program are equipped with special diaries and rulers to record what they catch, where they catch it and how long they have fished for.

In return anglers receive updates to keep them informed on how their records are contributing to the overall monitoring of fish stocks and related projects and the satisfaction of assisting the management of Victoria's fisheries.

People who are interested in getting involved should contact Matt Ward on (03) 5258 0111 or matt.ward@dpi.vic.gov.au.



October 2009